1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a method and apparatus for routing a message for a Proximity-based Service (ProSe) in a wireless communication system.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the development of communication devices and communication systems, users of the communication devices require services by which they can easily obtain or share their desired information at any time. Recently, due to the advent of smart phones and tablet Personal Computer (PCs), an environment has been provided, in which users can obtain and share a variety of information through wireless communication.
However, a wireless communication system may not enable users to obtain and share their desired information, without proper communications infrastructure. In addition, it is difficult for the wireless communication system to efficiently provide real-time information, due to system complexity or the time delay.
Accordingly, a Device to Device (D2D) communication service has emerged, which enables terminals (also known as User Equipments (UEs)) to perform communication services with each other through a direct communication link without network entities such as a base station (also known as an evolved Node B (eNB)) in areas in which there is no communications infrastructure.
At present, however, it is not possible to provide various types of D2D communication services since the systematic message routing for performing D2D communication services has not been defined.
The above information is presented as background information only to assist with an understanding of the present invention. No determination has been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the above might be applicable as prior art with regard to the present invention.